


Future's Open Wide, The

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Children, Drama, Family, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-12
Updated: 2007-10-12
Packaged: 2019-05-31 07:39:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15114788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: Right now was the perfect moment and both Josh and Hogan wanted to take advantage of it.





	Future's Open Wide, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Josh came down the hall, poked his hand into the nursery. Hogan looked up at him.

“The guy who wrote Doonesbury? What's his name?”

“Garry Trudeau.”

“Right.”

Josh left but was back in a few minutes. Hogan looked at him.

“What?”

“You're beautiful; the both of you.”

Hogan smiled, stroking her baby’s nearly baldhead. Natalie Joan fed at her mother’s breast. She was a big, healthy, somewhat greedy baby. Hogan just couldn’t deny her…she hated to hear her baby cry. She definitely ate more than Noah did.

“I need a six letter word for love.” He said.

“Desire maybe. Josh, why do you bother with the crossword puzzle if you don’t know the answers?”

“I will have you know that I do know the answers.” He leaned on the doorframe. “I just don’t know all of them. You're a very smart girl; I didn’t think you minded helping me out.”

Hogan laughed. Natalie pushed away from her mother’s breast. Hogan held her on her shoulder, gently patting her back with one hand while adjusting her bra with the other.

“Does it ever hurt?” Josh asked.

“Once in a while. It didn’t with Noah but she's a greedy piggy sometimes.”

The baby burped softly but Hogan kept patting to see if she would again. Satisfied that she was OK, she laid her in the crib on her back and turned on the mobile. She and Josh went walked into the bedroom. He went back to the bed and the Washington Post crossword puzzle. Hogan started to undress.

“You're staring at me.” she said, her back to him.

Now she turned, giving Josh the full view of her naked body. Damn, how did he ever get so lucky? She was absolutely beautiful. Natalie was three months old and her mother still carried the glow of pregnancy and birth. Her breasts were pert and round. Her stomach was flat…it hardly looked as if she were the mother of two. Josh didn’t hide his disappointment when she threw on a Yale Law tee shirt and climbed into bed.

While he went back to his crossword puzzle, which he was never very good at, Hogan turned on the television. She was sure nothing was on. She was more of a flipper than a watcher. There were about 350 channels to choose from. It was a good way to come down from a long day of being mommy.

“I talked to my mother this afternoon.” She said. She stopped at MTV2 but was not in the mood for Headbanger’s Ball.

“How did that go?”

Josh gave up the puzzle and gave Hogan his full attention.

“It went alright. I sent her some pictures of Noah and Nat; told her we were coming to New York for Thanksgiving next week. I think we are going to get together.”

“Are you ready?”

Hogan shrugged. She had not seen her mother in 18 years. Neither one of them fully realized the opportunities they had over the years. Hogan refused the invitation to Arizona every summer when her sisters went. After a while, Helena stopped asking. They were complete strangers. It was only recently that Hogan began to reconcile all the events of her life. She was in therapy twice a week, going over everything that happened. It was a magnificent feeling to share it with someone, especially someone who could really help. Nothing was off-limits in their sessions; Hogan felt so free. She felt she was a better mother, sister, daughter, lover, and friend since she and Josh returned from Providence.

“I'm not sure if I am ready, actually. What I do know is that I have to do it. Who knows if I will ever truly be ready? What's ready anyway?”

“That’s all true.” Josh replied.

“We will be in town for four days so I thought I could meet her for lunch or something. I'm not going to take the kids…it will just be the two of us. Josh, I don’t really know what to say about it. It’s just something I decided to do.”

“Its alright.” He said, pulling her into his arms. “You're doing the right thing and I think it will make you feel really good. I'm proud of you.”

“You love me?”

“Of course I do. You love me?”

Hogan smiled, caressing his face.

“I love you so much. C’mere, let me show you.”

Josh laughed as Hogan wrapped her arms around him. Her kisses were hot and passionate. Josh adjusted his body on top of hers as the kisses intensified. He immediately removed her tee shirt. His hands explored her while she kissed him.

“I love you sweetie.” Josh murmured. “You feel so good.”

Hogan smiled. She quickly undressed Josh too but other than that, it was all the Chief of Staff’s show. He wanted to touch, kiss, taste, and explore every inch of her. This would be the first time they had been intimate since the eighth month of her pregnancy. 

Josh, as usual, was busy at the White House. Hogan put everything into being a good mother to her two young children. She did not want to return to work as they were only going to be in DC for nine months. Now they had two months left. She got a kick out of spending time with Noah and Natalie…many of her doubts about her ability as a mother diminished.

Things were a bit different with Josh. It wasn’t bad by any stretch. When they returned home from Providence, she went straight to therapy and he went straight to the White House. It only took two months for her to open up to Josh. They had many conversations, some by phone as Josh was traveling with the President. 

She opened up about her hopes, fears, doubts, and dreams of the future. Josh opened up too. He loved her, their family, and he wanted to be there for her. So they just held onto each other and waited for the birth of their second child. Busy jobs and home lives kept them from being very intimate. Right now was the perfect moment and both Josh and Hogan wanted to take advantage of it.

“Mmm…Josh.”

Hogan’s back arched as Josh’s mouth caressed her breasts. He kissed and licked the skin before focusing on the nipples. They were sensitive so he did not want to be too rough. Sometimes they both enjoyed it a bit kinky, seeing how far they could push each other. That didn’t need to happen tonight. She moaned, crying out softly as he sucked her nipple. He moved from the right to the left, stroking one breast as his mouth made love to the other.

He was in no hurry; loved the noises Hogan made. His mouth moved down, leaving a trail of wet kisses across her stomach and pelvis. Hogan ran her fingers through Josh’s hair as she gently pushed his head further down. He slid her thighs apart and stroked the wet, delicate skin. Hogan shuddered, gripping his shoulder. Josh touched her all over but would not make contact with her clit. She was practically in heat…writhing on the bed and taking shallow breaths.

When he stroked her clit between his thumb and forefinger, she immediately climaxed. Josh hardly gave her a chance to recover from the intensity. He spread her legs further and slid his body down on the bed. Her clit was hard, aching, and Josh took it gently into his mouth. Repeatedly he brought Hogan to the pinnacle. She finally had to push him away. She was too sensitive to take it anymore. Josh moved up, taking her into his arms. He kissed her softly on the mouth. 

“I love you.” She whispered, touching his face. “Thank you for putting up with me.”

“I could say the same thing sweetie.”

Hogan smiled. She straddled him, running her hands down his chest. She tweaked his nipples and Josh moaned. Bending over, she bit them. She knew how much he liked that. He liked to be bitten, kissed, and sucked. That’s exactly what Hogan did. Then she rolled onto her back, pulling Josh on top of her. It felt amazing when he was finally inside of her…forever since she had him so close.

Hogan wrapped her legs around him but Josh pulled them back. He needed room to move; that suited her fine. She was not the only one who was excited. Josh bit down on his lip, his whole body in rigid concentration so he would not come sooner than either one of them wanted. He lifted her buttocks, thrusting deeper.

“Josh! Oh God, ohhh, oh God, don’t stop! Josh!”

She tried not to scream when she climaxed; she didn’t want to wake the kids. Josh was right behind her. He groaned her name and then collapsed. It was hard not to drop all of his weight on her but he managed to throw himself on the mattress beside her. Hogan threw the blanket over them before cuddling in his arms.

Josh kissed her forehead. There was not a sound in the room but their breathing. Hogan listened for noises over the baby monitors she kept on the nightstand. There was silence in both Natalie’s nursery and Noah’s bedroom.

“I’ll be right back.” she kissed him before sitting up.

“Where ya going? This was very nice.”

“I want to check on the kids.” She threw a tee shirt over her head. “I’ll be right back.”

Josh nodded, watching her leave the room. While she was gone, he grabbed the remote and turned on ESPN. Sportscenter was surely on; he needed to get the college scores. He and Sam spoke and text messaged the entire three hours of the Harvard-Princeton game. Sam walked away victorious this time, but Josh gave it to him. Princeton was like 3-145 in the match up. It was about time they won.

“Is everything OK?” Josh asked when Hogan came back in the room.

“They are sound asleep, just like the angels that they are. Nat will probably be up in a few hours.”

“Yeah. Come back to bed. You deserve a little sleep yourself.”

“Actually, I want to talk to you.”

Why did that make Josh’s stomach drop? He checked for signs of change but her blue eyes were bright and wide; the flush still on her skin from their lovemaking.

“What's up?” he turned off the TV.

Hogan sat on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“I have been thinking about a lot of things and I just want to tell you what's been on my mind.”

“Alright.”

“I don’t think we spend enough time together as a family Josh. I don’t want to get down on you because I know you have a busy job but in a few months, you are not going to work at the White House anymore. I guess I just want to make sure that when we get to Providence you can handle being a family man.”

“Noah and Natalie mean everything to me Hogan. I thought you knew that.”

“I do.” She took both of his hands in hers. “I also know how much you live for the adrenaline rush of DC. Nothing in Rhode Island is ever going to compare. I know that serenity in New England with you and the kids is going to make me happy. I need to make sure that you're happy too.”

“Well, in the interest of honesty, I don’t know. I have a job lined up and a house. But I have been in politics for about 30 years. I may suffer from boredom in the beginning… don’t hold that against me. I'm most excited about getting a life. I want to see plays, have dinner at home, and enjoy quality time with our kids. There is much more to look forward to than to look back on.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Positive. I don’t know how I can convince you but…”

“You don’t have to convince me.” Hogan shook her head. “Josh, you always talk about how much my happiness means to you. I love you so much for that. I think it’s about time that I started showing you how much your happiness means to me. I've been selfish, and don’t try to say that I haven’t been. Even if it was done without intent, it was still done.”

“You were going through so much and I wasn’t there for you.” He said.

“You never failed me, I promise you. I just thought if I ignored the troubles deep down then they would go away. It always worked in the past. I had to stop running Josh and you do too.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have to talk more about Joanie and your family…the things you don’t discuss. I will not push you, I swear, but I am your safe place. You have always been mine. We both need to slow down and smell the flowers. Let’s get married.”

“Now?” he asked.

Hogan laughed, shaking her head again.

“Next year, well the year after. We need to settle into our new life and get the kids acclimated. I want to see what the new year has in store for us before I add something as insane as a wedding to our plates. I want to get back to work and you have new challenges to conquer.”

“All I have ever wanted was to marry you. I wanted to ask you as soon as you came back from Oxford. Being your husband would make me happier than I have ever been.”

“I know it would make your mom happy.”

Josh laughed, pulling her into his arms. She held him tight and exhaled. There were things he wanted to talk to her about, share with her, but he wasn’t sure how. They weren’t bombshells or anything, but he had spent so much time taking care of her, taking care of everyone, Josh didn’t like to be taken care of. He knew that so many people did though, including Hogan. She deserved his confidences as much as he wanted hers.

“I'm not sure if I can ever express how much you mean to me.” he whispered, still holding her. “I look at my children and…Hogan you mothered my children. We've had difficulties but during it all my love for you only strengthened. I look forward to the next chapter of our life together. It’s always an adventure with you.”

She pushed him over on the bed, covering him with kisses until Josh laughed. He stroked her hair.

“I love you Hogan Cregg. It’s going to be nice to get away for a couple of days. Just you, me, the kids, and our very large extended family.”

“Mmm, yeah.”

She cuddled in his arms again; Josh held her as she fell asleep. He was anxious for the end of the Administration. Not because he didn’t like what he was doing. He was just ready for a change. A nine to five job, at least a ten to six, would be nice. Sleeping in on weekends, playing with the kids in the park, barbecuing on the deck…normal stuff. Josh didn’t know how good he was going to be at normal, but he was Ivy League educated. That had to count for something. He also had Hogan to help him; to walk him around the landmines. She was going to be his wife…that was the best news of all. Josh fell asleep thinking of weddings and cul-de-sacs. He had sweet dreams.

***


End file.
